• by Tanya Gazdik , August 5, 2013

Farmers Insurance is launching 15 15-second online videos created to provide consumers with important insurance-related tips in engaging ways.

The comical videos are part of the new chapter in the larger University of Farmers advertising campaign, “It’s Smarter to Have a Plan,” developed by agency of record RPA. Several Vine videos will also spout quick tips to Twitter users starting Aug. 12.

The short videos will be hosted on YouTube and housed on a landing-page site that will live off of the brand website, at Smart.Farmers.com.

The “15 Seconds of Smart” site will feature a growing library of videos, in a variety of different formats. Some will be extremely simple live-action pieces, while others use different techniques and styles, such as simple animation, stop-motion, video-game, old Kung Fu movie and ‘80s PSA. No two video styles look alike.

“We wanted to reach consumers where many of them already spend a lot of their time: online,” said Mike Linton, head of enterprise marketing at Farmers Insurance. “We believe that knowledge is power and that we can help make consumers more confident about their insurance decisions.” 

Each video shares relevant facts, preventative tips and interesting insights demonstrating in a witty and approachable manner that Farmers Insurance is committed to making consumers smarter about insurance.

For example, one video shows a coughing Santa who has just climbed down a chimney and can’t breathe, advising consumers to have their chimneys cleaned once a year. In another video, a woman whose online accounts have been hacked because she chose a password that is obvious in her office decorations, instructs consumers to change their passwords regularly.

The "It's Smarter to Have a Plan" campaign, designed to help consumers become smarter about insurance by showing a number of important and practical insurance tips, features J.K. Simmons as Professor Nathaniel Burke, who continues to act as a proxy for actual Farmers agents, helping consumers get smart about insurance, everyday risks and offering practical solutions.